The invention is in the field of security systems for automobiles or other vehicles.
1. Prior Art
Various types of security systems for motor vehicles are known in the art. For example, virtually all moving vehicles have keyed ignition switches, and most vehicles have keyed or otherwise locked barriers preventing or hindering access to the ignition switch, usually in the form of a locked-door passenger cabin. However, such key and barrier systems have proven easy for thieves to defeat in a matter of a few seconds, by breaking glass windows, xe2x80x9cjimmyingxe2x80x9d doors, etc. Ignition systems are also easy to defeat, by xe2x80x9chotwiringxe2x80x9d or key falsification.
In response, a variety of supplemental security devices have been used, such as steering-wheel-securing xe2x80x9cclubsxe2x80x9d and alarms triggered by movement of a locked car. However, thieves, too, have taken corresponding countermeasures, such as by learning how to alter or ignore alarm systems or remove clubs by cutting the steering wheel. In addition, the public has become jaded because loud and annoying car alarms are often triggered accidentally, by casual touching or even blowing wind.
As a result, auto theft remains a multi-billion dollar xe2x80x9cbusiness,xe2x80x9d despite the best efforts of the auto industry, police, and aftermarket suppliers.
Various types of electronic personal-recognition systems are known in the art, including electronic fingerprint, palm-print, signature, and voiceprint-recognition devices. It is also known how to locate a face in a random video scene, identify the face, and distinguish the recognized individual from other persons by electronically camera scanning facial features and comparison to stored parameters derived from previous scans. Representative of such xe2x80x9cfacial-recognitionxe2x80x9d systems are U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,969, issued in 1990 to Tal; U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,522, issued in 1991 to Lambert, including the patents, devices, and articles described therein, such as those related to the Face Recognition Machine and the Autonomous Face Recognition Machine; U.S. Pat. No. 3,805,238, issued in 1974 to Rothfjell; U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,609, issued in 1995 to Kado et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,504, issued to Calia in 1995. All of such documents, including the references cited therein, are incorporated herein by reference.
However, all of such personal-recognition systems are typically used in security systems designed to detect authorized personnel and prevent unauthorized entry through a building door or a gate. Many fingerprint and facial-recognition systems require extensive and routine-obstructing measures, such as the placement and securing of a head in a fixed location (such as on a chin-rest); requirements of keeping a finger, palm, or face still for an extended period of time; or extended delays for computations to finish. In addition, many such systems require expensive and complex subsystems and may be subject to defeat by impostors or other unauthorized persons.
For the above and other reasons, facial-recognition systems have not previously been applied to automobile security. However, it has been determined that facial-recognition systems are particularly well-suited to solve certain problems associated with vehicle security, when adapted to address the problem of auto theft prevention, as will become apparent below.
2. Objects of the Invention
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved vehicle or automotive anti-theft or security system and method for preventing theft.
It is another object of the invention to provide systems and methods for securing a powered vehicle to prevent its operation except by one or more authorized persons.
It is another object of the invention to provide systems and methods for hindering automotive theft, which are less easily defeated than conventional anti-theft devices.
It is another object of the invention to provide a facial-recognition system for determining whether or not a person attempting to operated a moveable vehicle is a thief.
It is another object of the invention to adopt a facial-recognition system for use in preventing or hindering automobile theft.
It is another object of the invention to provide an automobile anti-theft device that relies on electronic facial recognition of a person in a driver""s station or seat.
It is another object of the invention to provide a system for preventing the motion of an automobile unless operated by a recognized user.
It is another object of the invention to provide a security system that assists in improving the safety of operation of automobiles.
It is another object of the invention to provide an electronic system and method that can permit secure but keyless operation of an automobile.
It is another object of the invention to automate the starting system of an automobile.
It is another object of the invention to provide a security system that can be retrofitted into an automobile and does not require designing into an original production model.
The above and other objects of the invention are achieved in a preferred embodiment of the invention by a system for securing a movable vehicle, and methods of operation and of retrofitting vehicles, which include a facial-recognition system employing a camera directed at the face of a person in the driver""s seat, which system produces output control signals or codes that are applied to enable or disable operation of the vehicle, with or without use of a key or other supplemental security system. In a particular embodiment, the invention includes an electronic camera mounted on the front windshield frame, windshield, rear-view mirror, or xe2x80x9cthird taillightxe2x80x9d assembly (which is preferably mounted just below the roof and inside the rear window). In such latter embodiment, the scanning axis of the camera is directed at the rear-view mirror to capture a reflection of the driver""s face. The camera output is coupled to a facial-recognition computer, which in turn is coupled to control the operation of an enabling element for the vehicle, such as an ignition switch (which may be solenoid-operated) or a starting motor. In a further embodiment using a sufficiently discriminatory facial-recognition algorithm, the system can be coupled to various elements of the motive system to create an auto-starting car without an ignition switch or ignition key.
Other aspects of the invention will be appreciated by those skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed description of the invention.